Dems against Obama's Ga. judge pick

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats lambasted one of President Barack Obama's picks for a federal judgeship in Georgia on Tuesday, skewering him for his past votes on abortion and the Confederate flag.

It was unclear whether Michael Boggs' nomination to become a federal district judge in Georgia was in peril. He is now a judge on that state's appeals court.

At a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats repeatedly challenged his votes as a Georgia state legislator a decade ago. They focused on his support for measures to post information online about doctors who perform abortions and to keep the Confederate battle emblem on the Georgia flag.

At several points Tuesday, Boggs agreed with Democrats who said abortion doctors had faced attacks and threats from opponents of the procedure and that posting online information about them could jeopardize them further. He said at the time, he wasn't aware of that.

Asked by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., how old he was at the time, Boggs said he was 37.

"Thirty seven years old and a state legislator, and you were not aware of any of that," Franken said with a tone that sounded incredulous.

Boggs said as a state legislator, he was representing his constituents' views. He said he now believes his vote on abortion doctors was wrong, and he's glad the Confederate emblem was later removed from the state flag.

"Of all the recent criticisms offered against Michael Boggs, not one is based on his record as a judge for the past 10 years," Carney said.

Boggs said that as a federal judge, he would follow precedents from past legal decisions and added, "I can separate any political or partisan or public policy position I may have from my ability to be an impartial decision-maker."

Such comments drew skepticism from some Democrats on the panel.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she had heard past nominees make similar promises "and then bingo, it all changed" once they moved onto the federal bench.

"My vote depends on whether I believe that or not, and for how long I continue to believe that," Feinstein said.

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